Bla bla bla…started tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peppers, herbs from seed. Planted them. You know the drill. I added a whole bag of organic soil to each tank, and topped off all of the tomato pots. Everyone got food when planted, and tomatoes got a ton of crushed and powdered egg shells. The calcium will hopefully avoid the blossom end rot that I’d dealt with in the past.
One thing I did this year is use plastic containers for pots before ultimately tossing them in the recycling bin.They were great. I used quart yogurt containers, pint sized coconut creamer containers, and cut milk containers in half, drilling holes in all of them. They were large enough that I didn’t have to rush to plant. I’ll do it again next year.
Now, we harvest!
Earlier this month I went away for two weeks, and my neighbors watched and watered the garden. They got lucky, as we had the perfect combination of rain and warm weather. Their job was easy, and I came back to GIGANTIC cucumber plants in both tanks! I planted regular cuces and lemon cucumbers, the later being part of a seed trade I did with a friend in the winter. The lemon ones look like lemons but taste normal.
I’ve been picking them for about a week now. I learned that bitter cucumbers are thought to come from irregular watering, which makes sense for me. The difficulty I have with water on the roof sometimes leads to a day or so of improper watering, but I’ve tried to keep up with it this year. Still, the first few green cuces were a bit bitter. Peeling them worked, so I’m not terribly worried. The lemon cucumbers were better though. Taste just like any other cucumber.
Tomorrow…two cucumber recipes!
sprouts. 
For human use, put it through a juicer and drink. I didn’t want to do that, as my juicer is heavy and a pain to clean, so I just cut a portion (about 1″ x 1″ square) and snipped it into small pieces. Into my Magic Bullet blender with the flat blade and some water, and blend, blend, blend! As soon as you think you’re done, blend for another few seconds. When you have green water and green mash, strain into a glass and press the pulp to get out all of the liquid.
The some pods were 7” long, though most were about 6”, with about 10-12 beans per pod. I let the pods stay on the plants and dry on their own before picking them. I wound up with about two cups of dried beans. I stored them in a jar with one of those silica desiccant packets.
we were not able to pick. Even with all of our work, berries went to waste. Later, I picked some for myself in the U-pick rows, and even picked some white strawberries and pickled them. Very interesting. Apple cider vinegar, peppercorns, sugar, salt, caraway seeds, mustard powder (because I didn’t have mustard seeds left, oops.) and I think that was it. They’re still crisp. Taste like…an unripe pickled strawberry, but really I’m not describing them well…they taste better than you’re imagining.
All of that food was cooked and enjoyed within hours. Without volunteers to help pick it, it would have gone to waste in the field, hurting the farmer. I’m signed up for a few more dates in the future. They pick into early November. 
served breakfast for 70 people, the middle shift prepared lunch, and the later shift served lunch. I sliced up some beautiful tomatoes, a donation from a local farmer who also sells at a local farmer’s market, and layered them with mozzarella, basil, and balsamic vinegar. Tasty, tasty! I didn’t get a photo of the rest of the foods we made, but there were chicken strips with dipping sauces, a variety of salads, and some rugelach, fresh out of the oven. I left before the lunch serving shift started, but I heard that everything was well received.
Roof Garden Gal 